1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to bottle holders, and, more specifically, to a pitcher-style bottle holders attaching to the new style thread flanges of a bottle, having a spout for pouring the contents of the bottle, and a strategically designed handle which turns the bottle as a whole into a pitcher. The original bottle cap is used to close the handle spout.
2. Description of the Related Art
Beverages such as soda are frequently sold in bottles which are too wide to allow for effective grasping during carrying and pouring. It is usually necessary to use two hands to pour the contents of the bottle. Additionally, people with weakened or partially disabled hands sometimes have difficulty carrying these bottles with one hand. The present invention has three important and unique advantages, in that, first, it allows unique horizontal pouring by converting the bottle as a whole into a pitcher, and second, it has an internally flange-threaded bottom interior specifically dimensioned to be easily screwed onto the thread flanges of current, new-style soda bottles. Thirdly, the spout of the invention is externally flange-threaded so that the original bottle cap from the bottle may be screwed onto the spout to seal it. Furthermore, both the thread flanges in the bottom interior of the invention and the external thread flanges on the spout have gaps or spaces formed therein so as to allow the controlled escape of carbon dioxide gas from the bottle as the original bottle cap is unscrewed from the spout of the invention.
To overcome the difficulties created by prior bottle top devices, several inventors have proposed various handles attaching to a bottle. However, no inventor within the knowledge of the present inventor has described a pitcher-style bottle handle attaching to the cap thread flanges of a bottle, having a horizontally oriented handle spout so that the bottle as a whole becomes an easily handled pitcher, providing for use of the original bottle cap to seal the handle spout, using threads in the form of a series of flanges to decrease friction between the mating surfaces, and having spaces or gaps formed in the thread flanges for the release of carbon dioxide gas when the original cap of the bottle is unscrewed from the handle spout.
One example of a handle is U.S. Pat. No. 4,379,578, issued to Heriberto Schuler on Apr. 12, 1983, describing a bottle holder having a top portion defining an aperture encircling the bottle's neck below the neck's flange, a lower portion encircling the body of the bottle, and a handle connecting the top portion with the bottom portion.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,660,876, issued to William B. Weldin et al., on Apr. 28, 1987, describes a bottle handle having a partial annulus flexible neck fitting around the bottle's neck, a handle integrally formed with the neck, and a partial annulus member for partially encircling the lower portion of the bottom. The lower partial annulus member attaches to the handle by mating male and female connectors.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,768,403, issued to Gideon Bar-Noy on Sep. 6, 1988, describes a bottle opener and handle having a pair of pivotally connected members, each having a semicircular cutout facing the opposing cutout, and a handle portion. The semicircular cutouts are placed around the cap to assist in twisting off the cap, or around the neck of the bottle for use as a handle.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,773,549, issued to Yecheal A. Avraham on Sep. 27, 1988, describes a bottle holder. The holder includes a horizontal portion having a neck aperture for placing the holder on a bottle, and a smaller locking aperture for securing the holder around the bottle's neck. A front bottle support extends downward adjacent to the locking aperture, and a handle extends downward adjacent to the larger neck aperture.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,821,372, issued to Nicholas Casiello on Apr. 18, 1989, describes a container handle having a curved portion encircling most of the container's neck and neck flange, and a grasping portion fitting close to the container to minimize storage space requirements.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,865,208, issued to Harold Lax et al. on Sep. 12, 1980, describes a bottle support having a handle portion and a skirt portion. The skirt portion has a keyhole shaped opening in the top with a large portion opposite the handle for inserting the neck of the bottle, and a smaller portion adjacent to the handle for securing the bottle.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,896,913, issued to Steve J. Kennedy on Jan. 30, 1990, describes a bottle handle having a support strap encircling the lower part of the bottle, a handle extending upwards towards the neck, and a lock ring encircling most of the neck.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,183,169, issued to Stephen D. Grzych on Feb. 2, 1993, describes a bottle handle having a lower jacket portion for supporting the bottom of the bottle, a gripping portion extending upward from the jacket, and a neck encircling portion at the upper end of the gripping portion. The neck encircling portion has a locking tab for securing the neck.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,487,482, issued to Lawrence W. Rocheleau on Jan. 30, 1996, describes a handle and closure device for bottles. The closure device includes a spout having threads on each end, with the multi-shouldered bottom having top, internal threads for attaching to the bottle's top, and the top further having external threads for receiving a cap. The top may alternatively have a rotatably mounted cap with an aperture, with a corresponding aperture in the bottle. A handle extends outward from the spout. This patent teaches an elongate, double shouldered, complex structure having an excess of material which makes it far more expensive to make than the instant invention. The disclosed venting apertures are complex and difficult to manufacture, when compared to the uncomplicated gas-escape passages of the instant invention. The handle as taught in the patent is closed, thus increasing material expense, and formed at the top, which makes it hard to grasp and use with the bottle attached. Furthermore, this patent does not describe the horizontal orientation of the spout, or the use of flange-type threads to reduce friction, with gaps or spaces in the flanges for the release of carbon dioxide. More particularly, the thread flanges of the present invention are simply not taught or disclosed at all in the Rocheleau patent.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singularly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus a pitcher-style, reusable bottle handle solving the aforementioned problems is desired.